Skopje, Macedonia: a cultural city guide

Sunbeams filter through the star-shaped skylights of the hammam’s domed ceiling. Bouncing off honey-coloured walls, they illuminate the intricate carvings that embellish the majestic arches of the grand Daut Pasha bathhouse – one of Skopje’s finest Ottoman buildings, found just on the edge of the Old Bazaar. It’s typical of the many beautiful things in the Macedonian capital.

Built for the harem of Daut Pasha, a 15th-century Turkish dignitary, the hammam, with its 13 domes, is both stately and sensual. It’s said that fireflies kept in silk nets once lit the hammam for evening bathers. Electricity is used today – more suitable, I suppose, for a building that is now an art gallery.

I leave the hammam and head for the hubbub of the Old Bazaar, the largest in the Balkans. Among a tangle of shop-lined cobbled streets selling leather slippers, trinkets and traditional crafts, old men sit outside cafés washing down sweet honey cakes with strong black coffee.

The hubbub of the Old Bazaar, the largest in the Balkans (Alamy)

Outside another hammam are women in burkas, their bags full of beans, tomatoes and peaches bought from the bazaar’s fruit and vegetable market, where watermelons are piled high to make mini green mountains.

This bathhouse, the Cifte Hammam, in public use until 1915, is also Ottoman, but unlike the Daut Pasha, it’s not the original. Like 75 per cent of Skopje’s buildings, it was reduced to rubble in 1963 after a devastating earthquake that killed more than a thousand people.

Just around the corner, the diminutive St Spas church also survived. It was built partially underground, and constructed mainly under Ottoman rule, when churches were banned from being taller than mosques.

Below ground, I find a dazzling 20ft (6m) walnut iconostasis. Hand carved in the early 1800s, it features beautiful depictions of flora and fauna that act as elaborate frames around shimmering icons of local saints.

An uphill walk takes me to the fragrant rose garden of the elegant 15th-century Mustafa Pasha Mosque, said to be Macedonia’s most beautiful. From here, I take in the wonderful view of the Old Bazaar before strolling down to the Stone Bridge, built on Roman foundations.

I cross to the New Town where the Macedonian government in a neoclassical building spree has installed grandiose buildings, statues and a Napoleon-style triumphal arch. Designed to foster national pride, the project’s most talked-about showpiece is a 72ft (22m) statue of a golden warrior on horseback in Macedonia Square.

The elegant 15th-century Mustafa Pasha Mosque (Alamy)

As I take in the splendour of the horseman, the fountains dotted beneath it issue water with the force and speed of fireworks. Dodging the ferocious spray that hammers onto the square, young women in shorts and T-shirts shriek and scream. As they walk away, I can’t help but wonder what Daut Pasha’s harem might make of it all if they were to pass by on their way to hammam.

Skopje essentials

Getting there

Wizz Air (0906 959 0002; wizzair.com) offers flights from Luton to Skopje from £45.98 return. Note that this airline now charges €10 /£8 for hand luggage above a certain size.

A one-way Vardar Ekspres bus ticket costs around £1.30 for travel to Skopje from the airport (skp.airports.com.mk). Regulated taxis cost around £16. Hire cars are available: Avis (08445 818181; avis.com) has three days’ hire from £207. EU-member passport holders do not require a visa to visit.

Package

Regent Holidays (020 7666 1244; regent-holidays.co.uk) offers a three-night package to Skopje from £305 per person, including return flight with Wizz Air from Luton and accommodation at the Hotel Sun with breakfast.

The inside track

If you’re driving from the airport, you will need 35 Macedonian denars (45p) for the Skopje road toll. The ATM in the departures hall usually has better rates than the exchange office at arrivals.

Most of Skopje’s museums and historic buildings, including the sixth-century Kale Fortress, are found in and around the Old Bazaar/Town. For information, visit exploringmacedonia.com or call 00389 2 311 8498.

You’ll find genuine Macedonian gifts – many so-called local souvenirs are made in China – at Macedonian Corner in the Old Bazaar (Ul Podgrage br 76; 551 1366).

Visit beautiful Lake Matka in the mountains, just under eight miles away, for outdoor pursuits and ancient churches. A taxi costs around £6.50 and a bus around 65p.

TC Plaza ££ This central hotel offers spacious rooms and suites, and has helpful staff and a “wellness” centre with a gym and sauna (311 1807; tccplaza.com; doubles from £85 per night).

Stone Bridge £££ If you want to do Skopje in style, then opt for this glamorous five-star, located next to the Stone Bridge. It has a mixture of Ottoman and contemporary décor, and its facilities include a Turkish bath (324 4900; stonebridge-hotel.com; doubles from £130 per night).

The best restaurants

Old House £ This traditional house, built in 1836, is a rare example of local folk architecture and provides an appealing setting for classic Macedonian dishes that include an excellent local Sopska salad of tomatoes, onions, cucumber and soft sheep’s cheese (313 1376; starakuka.com.mk; Pajko Maalo 14).

Beerhouse An £-££ Delicious Macedonian dishes made to traditional recipes with regional produce accompanied by good local wines in an appealing Old Bazaar location (321 2111; pivnicaan.com.mk; 1472 Kapan Han).

What to avoid

As part of the Skopje 2014 building project, construction work is being carried out in the city until 2014: take care when passing building sites as pedestrian routes are not always signposted.

Many attractions and shops close on Sundays, so check before visiting.